- More than 40% of adults in the United States have obesity, of whom almost 10% have severe obesity.
- Obesity is a risk factor for many health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
- The fundamental cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended.
- However, it may not be just the amount of calories, but the source of those calories that can lead to obesity.
- New research suggests that fructose — a simple sugar found in many foods — may drive obesity and related health conditions.
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New research suggests that at the core of obesity may not be just an energy imbalance, but where that energy comes from may drive the condition.
The study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, suggests that fructose may drive obesity due to an evolutionary “survival switch” that causes people to store energy from fructose, rather than using it.
Dr. Eamon Laird, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Limerick, Ireland, not involved in the research, commented on the study for Medical News Today. He noted:
“This is a very interesting hypothesis — though it’s a narrative review and not a systematic or meta-analysis of the current evidence. It is a plausible idea that millions of years of evolution have resulted in a pathway that was beneficial but now is adverse due to our current…
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